Rights Groups Appeal to Iran Judiciary to Stop Persecution

(10 December 2009) The Asia Pacific Forum today, along with other Asian human
rights organizations from India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Taiwan, and
Japan, sent an appeal to the Head of Iran's Judiciary, Ayatollah Amoli Larijani,
expressing concern over the persecution of members of the Iranian student alumni
group ADVAR, many of whom have been arbitrarily
arrested and prosecuted and
sentenced in recent months because of their views.

The groups, all of whom are members of the
Asian NGOs Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI), asked that
the Judiciary review the cases in which the internationally protested rights of
ADVAR members had been violated. They expressed "deep concern" for the
"systematic repression of members of ADVAR which has been taking place since
June of this year." The letter was as follows:

An Open Appeal to Ayatollah Amoli
Larijani,Head of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic
of Iran
Regarding the Persecution of members of the student alumni group ADVAR

Your Excellency,

We, the undersigned, represent independent human
rights organizations in the Asia as members of the Asian NGOs Network on
National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI), appeal to you to review a series
of arrests, detentions, and convictions of members of the respected Iranian
student alumni organization ADVAR.

ADVAR is known throughout our region as a group
of young Iranian citizens committed to improving the welfare of the people of
Iran, and committed to peaceful methods and nonviolence to promote and protect
Iranian citizens' human rights. We believe no evidence exists to prosecute
members of this group, and indeed, that no such evidence has been presented in
trials in which several of its members have been convicted and sentenced. The
arrests and prosecution of ADVAR members have thus been politically motivated
and at variance with Iranian and international law.

We are deeply concerned about the systematic
repression of members of ADVAR, which has been taking place since June of this
year, with the onset of protests following the disputed presidential elections.
Specifically, we call your attention to the following:

The General Secretary of ADVAR, Ahmad Zaidabadi,
and its spokesperson, Abdollah Momeni, have been detained since June and have
reportedly been under severe pressure and physical abuse to make false
confessions.

Ahmad Zaidabadi has spent long period of his
detention in solitary confinement. He was refused release on bail by prison
authorities, despite a judge having approved bail, which his family posted,
according to information we have received. The judge's letter has been sent
three times. Zaidabadi's lawyer, Mohammad Sharif, confirmed in an interview with
the Iran Labor News Agency (ILNA), that the requested bail was
registered officially, but this was denied by the Justice Ministry. Sharif holds
that charges of "conspiring against the regime" were not proven during
Zaidabadi's trial, where the only evidence presented included his published
articles. According to his wife, Zaidabadi's health has deteriorated and is at
risk. He was subsequently sentenced to the excessive punishment of six year
prison, five years in exile and ban of any political activity for his life time.
Abdollah Momeni was recently sentenced to an eight-year prison term, including
six years for allegedly participating in the protests after the disputed 12 June
election, and two years for an earlier charge of threatening national security.
Momeni had been denied access to his lawyer and received the sentence in prison.
While Judiciary authorities claim Momeni refused an attorney, it is believed he
was forced to do so. Momeni has appealed his conviction. He suffers from kidney
and heart problems.

On 3 November 2009, Hasan Asadi Zaidabadi, a
respected and influential human rights defender and member of the Central
Council of ADVAR, was arrested at 20:30 at his home in Tehran, on the basis of
a summons from the Revolutionary Court, and taken to Evin prison, ward 209.

Asadi is a prominent human rights activist,
journalist, and spokesperson of the Committee to Investigate Arbitrary
Detentions, as well as being in charge of the human rights committee of
ADVAR.

While Asadi had been summoned on a number of
occasions, he had not previously been arrested in the context of the recent
political upheavals. His arrest was apparently an attempt to suppress political
protests on 4 November, the anniversary of the students' movement in 1977, and a
traditional day of celebration. Asadi Zaidabadi is being held in solitary
confinement in a cell about 1 by 2 meters large. No clear information has been
released about charges against him.

Another ADVAR detainee, Mohammad Sadeghi, also
arrested on 3 November, has been denied visits from his family. Hojat Sharifi
and his wife, Nafiseh Zarekohan, who were arrested on 4 November, are being held
in Evin prison. Mosa Saket, in charge of the ADVAR branch in Tabriz, was
imprisoned for a substantial time with no information given about his case, and
eventually released.

Other members of ADVAR have subsequently been
persecuted. Salman Sima, a member of the political committee of ADVAR and a
student in Azad University, was arrested on 14 November by agents who waited to
capture him in front of his home. After he was arrested, the agents searched his
home and confiscated personal items including his computer; his summons
indicated that he was to be transported to ward 209 of Evin prison, managed by
the Intelligence Ministry, and agents told his family his case would be heard in
Branch Three of the Revolutionary Court. Sima was previously arrested in July
2008 and kept in ward 209 for 40 days.

Kouhzad Esmaieli, in charge of the Gilan province
ADVAR branch, was arrested on 4 November and released on bail on 14 November,
but was arrested again on 16 November to serve a four- month prison term.

Your Excellency, we will be most grateful for
your attention and investigation into the clear pattern of persecution revealed
by these cases.

Protests by AmirKabir University Students in Tehran on Wednesday
University students have been taking a leading role in
anti-government protests.
On November 4, many universities across Iran were the scene of
protests.